How Much Does an Editor Cost? What to Expect for Pro Services

To help manage costs as well as to speed your book to completion, you can familiarize yourself with the various kinds of editing and target your request accordingly. Reedsy has some great educational material on this. I've noticed that many authors will check both "copyediting" and "proofreading" but often that's because they think they're synonymous. They're related, but not the same. The same editor could probably do both or either, but you shouldn't have to pay for two stages if you only need one.

At the easiest and most basic level, do a spellcheck, ensure consistency in usage of terms etc, and fix obvious layout/format issues. Also, if you're concerned about wider things like whether your book is interesting or clear enough, give the manuscript to some smart friends or colleagues to get their feedback before sending to an editor

The first thing I consider in a manuscript is how well the first line caught my attention and made me truly care. Even if is subconscious, readers are passing judgement on a piece immediately. This is why the first line is absolutely vital to setting up a successful manuscript. Unfortunately, most people have a very short attention span, and over 500,000 new fiction books are published each year, leaving no shortage of choices for readers. If a writer is adept at capturing an audience in just one line, it tells me they likely understand storytelling and know how to craft a narrative with a compelling voice.

Beyond this, I see potential in consistency. By this, I mean I always look for consistency in the voice throughout a manuscript and for characters to remain consistent in their choices or motivations. If characters are constantly doing strange and out-of-character things, it tells me the work is not well planned or fully developed. I look for plot consistency as well: is the central problem remaining the central problem, or have things drastically shifted somewhere along the way? If it has shifted, it is a sign that the original plotline/idea may not have been strong enough to carry the story.

I hope this helps! There are quite a few other small things I look for, but these are the two biggest ones I can typically spot right away.

As an editor for a small children's book press, I first read the story to see if the manuscript is well-written, and the story is well told. If I get to the end (there are many reasons that editors and agents will stop reading and go on to the next cover letter and story), then I evaluate whether there are marketing hooks, whether the idea feels fresh and new, yet universal, and whether there is a need for the book in the current market. I hope that helps!

I work on picture books, novels, memoirs, and non-fiction, so I have a lot of different approaches in my pocket, ha. For picture books, it is much easier to do multiple rounds of edits, and most of my clients choose a multi-round package. That means I move from overall feedback down to line notes as the project progresses. I try to take a similar approach to longer projects, though I don't always get to see more than one draft. I'll often include taking a second look at a short excerpt--normally the beginning--in my editing package.

In term of client expectations, if I've done my job well, these will be clear before we even start working. I am constantly tweaking the language in my sales messages and offers to clarify issues that have come up with clients in the past. I am fairly flexible in changing my approach depending on how the client likes to work. For example, one client of mine prefers to talk through all of the changes in her picture book on the phone. That's pretty rare these days, but it works great for her, and we have a lot of fun on our phone calls!

I find it really helpful to get a good sense of where the author wants their book to sit within the existing market. I like to ask them about who their target reader is, and what other books their target reader enjoys reading. Knowing that an author wants their thriller, for example, to sit on the more literary side of the market can really help guide my edits, and I can explain why I have made certain suggestions. Sometimes the process works differently, and I'll recommend a range of books I think the reader might find helpful to read, and they can tell me where they'd ideally like their book to 'sit' within that range.

Word count and type of service (developmental edit, editorial assessment, copy edit, proofread) are my only metrics. (I used to also go by genre, but I decided to just streamline my process by sticking to word count and type of service.)

The quality of the sample helps me work out my hourly rate. Editing writing by people whose first language is not English usually takes longer. If their first language is Spanish I can help quickly because I know the typical errors. That said, I would always want to discuss the intention behind any tricky sentences, so I expect to see the author's revised version for final checking. We would discuss the timeline to allow for maximum attention towards getting the desired outcome.

Over time I have come up with an hourly rate I need to make for active editing work, then I make an offer based on the time I expect to spend on a given project:

1. A set per-word cost for a service like manuscript assessment that takes about the same time/effort for every client
2. A sample copy or line edit at a couple of different levels of intensity, to show what to expect at a given rate.
3. An alternative suggestion for what might be the most helpful within a potential client's budget. For example, a manuscript assessment or copy edit of a smaller portion can show what most needs to be done--so the writer can work independently and then return for paid services.

I provide my FAQ note to help writers see what they might expect and understand what is involved in different editing services. My purpose is always to give a client the most help possible within their budget constraints. "Easy clients" do not subsidize the work I do for more complex, difficult projects.

I always check length first. The next step is to read the first few pages. How does the author use language? Is there consistency re: verb tenses? Is the POV (point of view) clear? And one more important issue: how does the writer describe the work? If I'm told that it's a sure-to-be bestseller and all it needs is a bit of polishing, I give it extra consideration. I always do a no-charge edit of the first page, so the writer understands how I work. This can make or break the possibility of working together.

As a non-fiction editor, I often work with authors who have business, as well as personal, goals behind their books. For first-time indie authors, I like to start by getting them to think clearly about how their book can support their work and professional profile.

Understanding an author's overall goals is crucial for supporting the editing process and it helps to frame certain editorial decisions I might make along the way.

I also include check-in calls between editorial stages into all of my projects. After an Editorial Assessment, I like to have a call with an author to discuss next steps, even if they decide not to move forward with an edit at this time. I also have check-in calls with my authors after my first pass on their developmental edit, to answer any questions and ensure that nothing has changed in their world that might impact the final manuscript.

One of my first Reedsy authors, Joe Papadatos, came to me with a 15,000 word manuscript for an editorial assessment. We had a call before he decided to work with me, in which I explained why I prefer to start any of my editorial projects by better understanding his goals, the audience for his book, and how this would drive editorial decisions.

From there, we talked about not only the different stages of the editing process, but also why he would benefit from increasing his book's word count. The upshot was that he went away with a lot of ideas and came back to me with a 35,000 word manuscript for an assessment, which led into a full developmental and final copy edit before he self-published.

We had calls at each stage, during which I also shared some of my experience about the self-publishing process that I've gained from working with other self-publishing authors. For me, guiding my authors through these steps and providing a bit of extra support feels like a natural extension of my role as an editor, and an important one as it can feel overwhelming at the beginning of the journey.

I had a fascinating experience guiding an author through developmental editing on a YA book about sanitation and the management of transmissible disease. She wrote a highly original narrative about a young woman who guided her family through an outbreak of the flu. While the narrative was straightforward --- her family got sick and she helped them through it --- she integrated a lot of highly technical, scientific information about disease transmission and how to prevent it.

In addition to helping her modify the character to make her more sympathetic to the audience, I offered suggestions on how to integrate that technical information without interrupting the narrative flow. Given that the character was a young adult, it seemed important to make her actions and knowledge plausible to the reader. By tweaking certain episodes in the story and adjusting her dialogue, we were able to make her both a relatable narrator and a vessel for the knowledge that the author wished to convey.

Sometimes, narrative and objective can come into conflict. Helping an author to adjust their narrative flow in order to achieve their end goal is crucial to developmental editing.